It wasn’t until 68 years later in 2013 that WJHL says a French hiker uncovered what looked like a grave around the area he went missing:

REPORTER: “A French citizen had found a grave near the German border. A stone on top was marked with the initial ‘H’ and a cross. Underneath bones, and dog tags — Cecil E. Harris, U.S.”

According to the Johnson City Press, that French hiker then contacted a historian specializing in the soldier’s infantry division, who then reached out to Harris’ son, William “Eddie” Harris: “I really could not comprehend it. I thought someone was fooling me when that guy got in touch with me.”

Eddie, who never got to meet his father, spoke with WBIR when his father’s body was returned to Tennessee:

EDDIE: “He was missing over there for about 70 years and he was buried in a grave less than two feet deep and he was there all them years, so I’m just glad to get him home with closure.”